


Me and my Shadow

by pickyourselfupfred



Series: Fred and Ginger forever [37]
Category: Astaire/Rogers RPF, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers Movies
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 07:10:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15043472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickyourselfupfred/pseuds/pickyourselfupfred
Summary: They kick up a storm.





	Me and my Shadow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Samantha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samantha/gifts), [StillAintNoGood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StillAintNoGood/gifts), [taylor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylor/gifts).



Charles Walters had an idea and both Fred and Ginger were so happy. They both liked and enjoyed working with Walters because, as a director, he wasn’t rigidly bound to a shooting schedule or script. Unlike directors such as Mark Sandrich, he was willing to take out the chaff and add whatever he thought would move the plot along in the context of the movie. He’d shared his latest thoughts with them after they broke for lunch on a day of shooting some short dialogue scenes that morning.  
“ Fred, Ginger, I’ve been thinking a lot about this rehearsal scene for Josh and Dinah that we’ve got coming up. Now it was written for Judy and Fred and I’ll admit it drew on the comedy rehearsal for their characters in ‘Easter Parade’. I know you guys have been working on how this should play but honestly I don’t think the comedy angle is right at this time. I mean they’re both dance pros, rehearsals are important but surely it serves to say that however much we love each other we can both deliver out on the dance floor so maybe there’s a little loving rivalry in all their rehearsals. What do you think?”  
“Charlie, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Sure we’ve worked on something with comedy and mishaps but it’s not very satisfying as we’ve done something like it before”, Fred was first to reply.  
“Yes Charlie”, Ginger continued, “We’ve done this comedy rehearsal thing already back in RKO days. Do you remember ‘Follow the Fleet’ and the dance we did to ‘I’m putting all my eggs in one basket’ way back then?”  
“Yes , of course, great fun and we don’t need to repeat something like that so go your own way and I’ll be happy”.  
“Ok. Loving rivalry, we can do that”, said Fred tipping a sly wink to Ginger as he led her from the director’s office.  
In their next quiet moment they talked about this conversation.  
“Charlie must be a mind reader”, chuckled Ginger.  
“Or maybe just a sympathetic director”, Fred replied.  
They laughed because Walters had come to the same conclusion they had. Neither had thought this rehearsal sequence should be played for laughs. In fact, as they knew oh so well for themselves rehearsals could be great fun with lots of giggles but once you knuckled down to it what you did was sheer hard work.  
“So”, concluded Fred, “lots of affection, all out effort with maybe a bit of ‘If you show me yours I’ll show you mine’.  
She giggled, “Well we’ve done that on more than a few occasions but yes, kinda showing off to each other just because they know they can hack it though I freely admit I could never best you in taps”.  
“Don’t sell yourself short cutie. Just think back to how you matched me step for step in ‘Roberta’ during the ‘Hard to handle’ routine.  
“Well it was fun and you were very naughty in some of your choreography.”  
“ Yeh I remember some naughty thoughts behind some of it but hey it was fun.”  
“Good times eh Fred.”  
“ The best.” He paused “and baby we’ll show ‘em in this rehearsal sequence that we two old timers can still cut it.”  
So they’d gone back and reworked the dance for this number.  
As Fred remarked “The title is ‘Bouncing the Blues”, let’s bounce the hell out of it.”  
And, working as one mind they had soon created an energetic dance that satisfied them both though, as it was very energy sapping, Fred suggested, “As we’re not getting any younger let’s break the rule and put in a cut half way through this.”  
“Ok boss!”  
Came the day of shooting MGM, typically, had a live small orchestra on set even though it would be playback they would dance to. Ginger, in a gesture to the old days, wore a pants outfit and her hair was loose. They both chatted to Oscar Levant who would figure briefly before they hit their routine. He was a buddy of the Gershwins back in their New York days and through them knew that Ginger and Fred had dated but, for all his flippancy and occasional crassness, he had never mentioned their relationship back then perhaps sensing this subject was taboo and not the stuff of gossip.  
They all walked through the camera rehearsal for the sequence, Fred and Ginger saving their energy for the dance to come.  
Just before the were ready for filming to begin Fred said very quietly to Ginger, “Remember sweetie all the laughs and loving we had making ‘Roberta’ - now let’s go for the biggie with this.”  
A sly smile and imperceptible nod of the head said, “Yeh, let’s let our hair down.”  
The first section was largely tap based and Fred cheekily chucked her under the chin as they began, an unrehearsed but spontaneous show of real affection.  
They blazed their way through this first section before their short pause to catch their breath. There was enough time for Fred to say, “Baby, you’re hot” and for her to reply “ We just danced away ten years and we’re back where we belong.”  
The second section picked up the pace even more and before either could help it all those little squeaks of happiness from Ginger and the satisfied grunts from Fred made the final soundtrack in much the same way as their squeals of delight in ‘Roberta’ had revealed their joy in partnering each other.  
The end of the routine had Ginger almost making a stripper’s type exit and as she did so Fred mouthed “Good God Gin” and drew her close to him as the curtain wrapped around them both.  
As the usual studio hubbub started up around them Fred said softly, “You were wonderful. That was fantastic baby. God Gin it’s so good to have you with me again.”  
“Well”, she replied, “then this is my heaven on earth.”


End file.
